Google picks KCK/KCMO for ultra fast fiber network

[heatherkay]

Yeah -- more time for them to get the channel lineups worked out before we have to make a decision

[ChandraNH]

I can imagine that things will speed up (I hope). I have a sneaking suspicion that some areas have more pre-registrations than people who will actually sign up for the service, so that will move things along.

I went ahead and signed up for tv + internet with two additional tv boxes ($5 each per month) so our monthly bill will come out to $130). We currently pay $130 + for Clear (which is slow, slow, slow) and Dish (with no DVR and no on-demand movies).

Slightly off topic: we recently picked up an HDTV Antennae from Costco for $30 for over the air channels and it works really really well. It's very thin and we have it applied to the wall behind the tv and some of the channels look better than our dish HDTV channels (plus we can now get MeTv).

[KSTHANE]

Just looking through the list for the Kansas and Missouri sides it seems like a lot of the construction is slated for Fall 2013, with a lot fewer neighborhoods on either side getting done in the spring and summer.

I'm selfishly disappointed that they didn't follow through with the statement about building out KCK before moving on to Missouri, but that has to make more sense economically.

[brewcrew1000]

I thought construction would be a lot quicker. Good timing for me though, as that is when my DirecTV contract ends.

Maybe this is why things are moving somewhat slow, this gives people time to opt out of existing service

[KSTHANE]

I think the satellite companies are the only ones that foist an unwieldy contract on you, and I can guarantee that they do everything they can before the buildout to secretly get people to sign up for an extra year. For example, taking the free Sunday Ticket from DirecTV will get you signed up for an extension automatically. Satellite companies make up about 30% of pay TV share.

[bobbyhawks]

So Crown Center is the first fiberhood on the Missouri side, scheduled for Spring 2013. Guess the higher density and condos helped? I live in the same area as the Google Fiber HQ (Volker South) and we're ranked 30th and with a Summer 2013 date

http://fiber.google.com/cities/kcmo/#fi ... -container

Crown Center was qualified at something like 104%, so they signed up more units than Google actually thought they had.

A look at the scheduled time periods is pretty interesting, and perhaps a little insight into the next phases for Google. When you combine KCK and KCMO, the seasons break down as follows:

EOY 2012 - 7 Fiberhoods
Spring 2013 - 25 Fiberhoods
Summer 2013 - 51 Fiberhoods
Fall 2013 - 96 Fiberhoods

My hopes for an accelerated install are a bit dashed. It looks like they will be starting slow and then doubling their base each quarter, almost on an exact trajectory. This gives them a chance to have an experienced installation team by the time Phase II factors in, and they could be installing anywhere from 96 to almost 200 fiberhoods by Q1 2014. Here's to hoping I am wrong. The converse of this would be that they are backloading the schedule so that people aren't disappointed in delays, and the fact that there are 96 hoods scheduled for Fall 2013 vs. 83 before that (I'm just realizing I miscounted by 1 somewhere) could mean many of these places will be recipients of "early" fiber.

[flyingember]

another question is are they going to wait for the first build out to be finished before they bring in new areas or will they bring in more people?

[lock+load]

Google has added Time Warner channels including TBS, TNT, CNN etc. No mention of HBO.

http://googlefiberblog.blogspot.com/201 ... er-tv.html

[flyingember]

the map's updated with coming soon areas

not that they got the names or map right....
which is ironic since google already has mapping skill in house

https://fiber.google.com/cities/#header ... ansas%253F

[KCMax]

Google adds BBC America and BBC World News to its channel lineup.

[justin8216]

Google adds BBC America and BBC World News to its channel lineup.

That's good news ... I love watching Law and Order UK Edition and The Tudors, plus they got Cartoon Network now lined up as well .... now if they just get AMC so I can watch Walking Dead, their channel lineup will be complete.

[justin8216]

I recently received an email from Google Fiber that my neighborhood qualified and to click a link to choose my package. My neighborhood isn't scheduled to get hooked up until fall of next year but you don't get charged until you actually get hooked up, so no harm.

Well as we all know, the google fiber service includes an upgraded Google Drive from a standard 5 GB free to 1 TB of cloud storage.

I was just recently looking at my Google drive and noticed I was using 0% of 1029 GB. Which equals I TB. It would seem that Google already upgraded my Google Drive's storage even though I'm not going to get service for at least a year.

I checked what the value of 1 TB of cloud storage was.... normally Google charges people $49.99 per month for 1 TB.

So people who pre-reg for Google Fiber are getting a $50 per month value for the next year for only $10.00

Sounds like a sweet deal, imo

[pash]

.

[justin8216]

I was going to ask about that. I signed up a few days ago and thought I had recalled reading that the terabyte of cloud storage would be available immediately. But my Google Drive still shows only 5GB. I've logged out and back in and reinstalled the local client, but no free extra storage for me.

I believe I signed up 2 days ago, just noticed the added storage tonight.

I was wondering why I have 1029 GB of Storage when I was supposed to be "upgraded" to 1 TB, which is actually 1024 GB. The more I thought about it, seems like they simply took my 5 GB free and added a TB on top of it giving me the 1029 GB. LOL

I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing is done manually. They probably print off a list once a week at Google HQ of everyone who selected a GF package and some bored Google employee manually pulls up our acct on a computer screen and adds the TB to our Google Drive... He/She probably accidentally checked off your Google Handle and then lost their place on print-out. LOL

Suppose come fall 2013 and my landlord says no I can't hook google fiber in my apartment building. Will Google take away my TB of cloud storage or is it like a permanent freebie for all of us who pre-registered for GF?

[justin8216]

I've been meaning to post about what will happen after the 7 years if Google decides not to continue operating the Gigabit Fiber network. I think there was some discussion about that previously.

I have read the Google Fiber Venture Agreement between the Unified Government of KC, KS/ Wyandotte Cnty and Google from cover to cover. In the agreement, the KC, KS Board of Public Utilities has first right to purchase the network from Google if they cease operations. I envision that if this experiment doesn't work out for Google, the BPU will acquire the network and it will become municipally run.

Few people may recall this, but back in 2000 when Time Warner's Franchise was up for renewal in KC, KS ...the BPU actually considered bidding on the franchise and taking over the city's cable service. That never happened and the new franchise agreement with TWC brought major improvements to the cable TV network in KC KS. But it is not far fetched to think that BPU would get into the cable TV business.

Not all neighborhoods in KC, KS made it into a fiberhood but if I'm not mistaken, Google's contract requires them to eventually build out service to the entire city limits of KC, KS. There are some isolated subdivisions surrounded by rural area that Google did not include first time around.

I would be willing to pay like a $2.50/month "universal service" fee to help the city subsidize deploying fiber even into the rural areas within KC, KS's city limits.


One other note. I read in the news that the schools couldn't promote Google Fiber because it is a private business. That is total Hogwash!
They have done it before and nobody said a thing.....

I was one of the first people in all of KC metro to get TWC's roadrunner internet. The reason I got it was because my little brother went to Highland Middle School who just got hooked up to RoadRunner internet and they sent all the students home with a flier promoting Roadrunner... if you called and mentioned the flier sent home by the school TWC waived your installation charge.

[bobbyhawks]

I thought I read somewhere that Google had the authority to pull out after only a few years? I don't think they have to be around for 7 years at all, but I also think it would be a giant embarrassment if they did pull out after only a few years. I think that Google showed through the last week's campaign efforts that image is still an important factor in this project. If they were simply trying to maximize profit and install quickly to high demand areas, they would not have worked so hard to sign-up certain fiberhoods.

There will be nowhere else in the country (maybe a portion of LA in another year or two) with the install base of KC that Google can tinker with, so I don't think they will abandon the project anytime soon. Also, Google will have established a price point, infrastructure, and expectation of quality speed/service that the consumer would demand from anyone taking over.

[bobbyhawks]

I thought I read somewhere that Google had the authority to pull out after only a few years? I don't think they have to be around for 7 years at all, but I also think it would be a giant embarrassment if they did pull out after only a few years. I think that Google showed through the last week's campaign efforts that image is still an important factor in this project. If they were simply trying to maximize profit and install quickly to high demand areas, they would not have worked so hard to sign-up certain fiberhoods.

There will be nowhere else in the country (maybe a portion of LA in another year or two) with the install base of KC that Google can tinker with, so I don't think they will abandon the project anytime soon. Also, Google will have established a price point, infrastructure, and expectation of quality speed/service that the consumer would demand from anyone taking over.

I keep mentioning that Google worked hard to qualify hoods, but I often fail to mention all of the volunteers who dedicated themselves to this effort. Aaron Deacon's name has been in about 1 out of every 3 Google Fiber articles I have read recently, and it is well deserved!
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/19/38 ... ivide.html

[kboish]

Rumors of google looking to open bids to other cities for their Fiber network

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-w ... Insider%29

[AJoD]

I have no idea whether Google plans to expand or not, but I am pretty confident that Rory Maher completely mischaracterized the quote of his source.

[kboish]

The google people on the ground here seem to think/say google isn't expanding beyond KC anytime soon.